Centipede: Origins is a game that unfortunately goes by the numbers. This is a remake of the arcade classic, as a universal app. Players control a gnome that must get rid of those pesky bugs that come cascading down the screen, leaving mushroom obstacles in their path. Players earn coins in the game that can be spent on activating powerups like rapid fire or a grenade, on upgrading said powerups, and to unlock later levels.

Ever feel annoyed that the shooter in Centipede could only go upward so far? Well, there’s a level where the gnome can go anywhere, to mix things up. The controls do their job, though it does lead to some thumb blockage on the iPhone, and can be uncomfortable working 1:1 on the iPad. All in all, it’s a solid game of Centipede.

The disappointing thing is just that the game feels so safe, so obvious. It feels exactly like what would happen when applying the cheap+IAP strategy that Jetpack Joyride and Temple Run have particularly popularized. I don’t think that the game is made worse for having these IAP elements in there – in fact, they can be avoided entirely in a way that few other games have done. It just feels like the genesis of the game was “How can we rake in IAP money off of Centipede?” Maybe that’s not what happened, but that was definitely the result. I don’t even have a problem with the model in general, it’s just that the result here feels so uninspired.

So, Centipede: Origins is not a bad game. It’s just kind of bland. Fans of Centipede might enjoy an iPad-friendly version of the game, and it does have gnomes in it. Everything is better with gnomes. It just doesn’t take a lot of risks, doesn’t do anything particularly unexpected.

iPhone Screenshots

(click to enlarge)

iPad Screenshots

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